Ahh... Sunday

I'm blogging and reading other blogs, Ron is napping in his chair, and Maisey - well, she's living a dog's life. Right now, I think she's napping under Ron's chair but in the last 30 minutes she's been on my lap, next to me on the sofa, and in her "own" bed. Yes, she has her own bed.


She's quite spoiled. As you can tell, she also has a bed full of toys. That doesn't take into consideration the HOUSE full of toys. Maisey loves to share, too. When visitors come, she just knows they're there to see her and not us. She'll often bring a toy to the door to greet "her" visitors, sometimes it's a cherished chewy and sometimes it's just a regular toy. When she's feeling very generous, she brings her favorite blue dog toy. You know that commercial where the owner is trying to get this long stuffed animal thing away from her dog? She ends up buying a new one and swapping it out because it's so gross? Well, we have one of those long stuffed dogs. Bright blue in color and Maisey loves it. Actually, Maisey loves all of her toys and frequently we'll find several in bed with us.


If she knows one of us is not feeling well, she'll sometimes bring a toy and put it on our chest (if we're asleep) or near us if we're sitting. Often, I'll find something on Ron's chest and he doesn't even realize she's put it there. He spends so much time sleeping in his chair that she'll leave stuff on his shoulder for him to find later. She loves her humans!

Today, our oldest granddaughter graduates from high school. It's hard to imagine that 18 years have gone by! She was the first grandchild and although Stacey had received a sonogram, it did not show that Mariah had Spina Bifida. Imagine the shock when she was delivered! She was immediately rushed to the NICU and stayed there until her spinal closure surgery. When she was just a few months old, she had to have a shunt put in and her parents were told that she'd never walk and she'd probably have to have more shunt surgery as she got older.

She is a walking miracle. She's never had to have the shunt replaced (had one minor repair as an infant) and although she didn't walk unassisted until she was about four, she does WALK. In fact, when she was younger, she participated in our local Special Olympics and WON several running - yes, running - events. We're so proud of her. Now that she is older, her legs aren't really strong enough for her to run, but she does walk nearly everywhere. She has a scooter for long distance use and sometimes she uses it at school. Like Ron, she has no feeling in her lower legs so she's developed some pressure sores on her feet, which made her have to use her scooter exclusively while they healed.


She's quite bright and has big plans for her future. Go, Mariah! We're proud of you!